Well Met
by slightlytookish
Summary: In a small village during the king’s tour of the outlying lands, Morgana meets a strange but oddly familiar girl. Arthur isn’t so convinced. Mild spoilers for episode 2x08.


**Notes: Mild spoilers for episode 2x08. This story takes place in the past, when Morgana is about fourteen years old.**

Morgana stood a little straighter as the king addressed the village, well aware that many of the people were looking at her with undisguised curiosity. It had been like this in each of the places they had visited thus far; this was the first time she had been allowed to accompany Uther and Arthur on a tour of the outlying lands, and so it was the first opportunity for most of the people in this part of the kingdom to see the king's young ward.

She gazed at the small crowd of peasants that had gathered to greet the king, passing her eyes over each person before finally settling on a boy close to her own age. He caught her watching and flushed red, quickly averting his eyes in obvious embarrassment.

Morgana hid a smile and looked away, ignoring Arthur's derisive snort. She returned her attention to the people, letting her eyes drift from face to face before they landed on a girl standing a little apart from the others. Morgana watched her curiously. Like the other villagers she wore simple clothes and her long fair hair was tied back as if she had been working hard in the fields, but there was something about the girl that made her seem so different from the other peasants – her expression and posture seemed to carry a certain strength, a quiet nobility that set her far apart from the rest.

Just then the girl turned away from the king and met Morgana's gaze directly. There was something about her large, dark eyes that seemed so familiar that Morgana dropped her own eyes in surprise. When she looked up again, the girl was gone.

*

It wasn't until later, after the king had inspected the fields and the livestock and was making ready to leave the village that Morgana saw the girl again. Once more she was standing at the edge of the crowd and when their eyes met she turned away, making for a nearby hill. She glanced back only once to see if Morgana would follow.

Morgana did, but once they were alone she had no idea what to say. She could see now that the girl was a little older than she was, and she regarded Morgana steadily, in a way that few people apart from Uther and Arthur ever did. She appeared to be studying her closely, as if she were searching for evidence of something, but there was a warmth in her gaze and her expression was kind and welcoming.

At last the girl spoke. "You look well. A little tired from your journey, perhaps," she said, scrutinising Morgana's face for another moment before nodding, apparently satisfied by whatever she saw there. "It's good to see you."

"Have we met before?" Morgana asked uncertainly.

The girl shook her head. "I live there," she said, pointing towards the mountains.

"Not in the village?"

"No," she replied. "I came here today to see you."

"Me?" Morgana asked in surprise. "But why?"

She smiled faintly, but did not answer. "Is the king kind to you?"

"I want for nothing," Morgana replied honestly.

"But he is not your father."

"No," she whispered. "He is not."

A look of such sadness and understanding crossed the girl's face that Morgana wondered if she, too, had lost her father. But when the girl spoke all she said was, "You miss him."

"More and more every day."

Unexpectedly, the girl reached for Morgana's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Are you happy?" she asked urgently. "Most days, are you happy?"

"Yes," Morgana replied slowly. "Not as I was before, but – I think I am, in my own way."

"I'm glad," the girl said, smiling brilliantly now. "And I'm glad we met today, Morgana."

Although she was utterly perplexed by their encounter Morgana couldn't help smiling at her in return. "What's your name? Please, tell me who you are."

The girl shook her head slightly, the smile swiftly fading from her face, and she clasped her hand tightly once more before letting go – leaving Morgana blinking in confusion at the empty space where she had been standing just a moment before.

"Decided to wander off, did you?"

Morgana spun around to face Arthur. He was right behind her, standing with his arms folded and wearing an impatient expression. "Did you just see a girl just now?" she asked.

"A girl?" He glanced around at the emptiness surrounding them – they were the only two people standing on the hill – and gave her an odd look. "There's no one else here."

"But she was standing right here only a few moments ago," she said, gesturing to the place beside her. "We were talking."

"Really." Arthur still looked dubious. "Who was she?"

Morgana frowned, trying to remember the girl's name. "I don't know," she said at last.

"You don't even know her _name_?"

"No, I – I don't think she ever told me."

"What did she look like, then?"

"She had light hair, and…" Morgana trailed off, struggling to recall the girl's appearance and finding it strangely difficult. She could hardly remember what they had spoken about, even though it had seemed so important at the time. It almost seemed as though their meeting had happened a long time ago, if it had ever happened at all. A tiny part of her was beginning to wonder if she had imagined the whole thing, though she would never admit that to Arthur. "You really didn't see her?"

"No," Arthur said slowly, making it obvious that he thought she was completely mad. Suddenly he smirked, looking as smug and as irritating as ever. "Don't worry, Morgana. I understand."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What do you understand?"

"All this," he said, waving his hand around pompously. "I saw you making eyes at that boy in the village–"

"I wasn't making eyes at anyone!"

"And then you came up here to have a sulk–"

"I wasn't _sulking_!"

"And now you're pretending to see strange girls that no one else can see," Arthur concluded, ignoring by her protests. "Admit it. You just wanted my attention."

"You arrogant little–" She dived at him, fists flying, but Arthur quickly ducked away, laughing. He turned and ran back down the hill to where Uther and the knights were waiting with the horses, and Morgana raced after him, all thoughts of her strange meeting forgotten as she tried to think of the best way to take her revenge on Arthur.

Morgana didn't see the girl again before they left the village, and when they camped that night by the river she slept dreamlessly for the first time in a long while. And when she woke in the morning, she couldn't remember the girl at all.


End file.
